National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest
Encyclopedia
The National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest is a competition, festival and musical gathering held annually during the third full week in June, in Weiser, Idaho
. It is often referred to as 'Weiser'. The contest draws musicians from across the country. Nearly 7000 people come for the week and almost 350 fiddlers compete in 8 divisions. In addition to the contest there are workshops, performances, a battle of the bands, a parade and a carnival. The contest is held at Weiser High School
. The competition is held in the gymnasium, and most of the contestants camp in the school’s sports fields.
, secretary of the Weiser Chamber of Commerce. The contest increased in size each year, and competitors came from farther away. The name was changed to the Northwest Oldtime Fiddling Championships in 1956, when a regional division was added for out-of-area fiddlers. In 1963, the present National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest was inaugurated. The contest has continued to grow since then, and now sets the standard for fiddling competitions across the nation.
There are some tunes that are played many times during the week. Sally Gooden, Sally Johnson, Dusty Miller, Allentown Polka, Cotton Patch Rag, Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down, Memory Waltz, Morning Star Waltz, and Red Roses in Summer Rain are all tunes played by some of the top competitors.
Rules
Each fiddler
plays a set (or 'round') of three tunes, which must include a hoedown
, a waltz
and a tune of choice, which can neither be a waltz or a hoedown. The fiddlers with the highest scores move on to the next round of competition. The number of fiddlers that get to play in each round is decided before the contest starts. In all divisions, only five fiddlers compete in the final round of competition. Scores are cumulative throughout the contest.
The contest is divided into seven divisions: Small Fry, for contestants less than nine years of age; Junior-Junior, for contestants less than 13 years of age; Junior, for contestants less than 18 years of age; Young Adult, for ages 18–36; Adult, ages 37–59; Senior, ages 60 and above; and finally, Grand Champion, which is open to competitors of any age. No competitor may enter more than one of these divisions. There is no competition between divisions. There are three rounds of competition for the Small Fry and Junior-Junior divisions, four for the Junior, Young Adult, Adult and Senior divisions, and six for the Grand Championship.
If a contestant wins an age specific division three times, they can no longer compete in that division, but they may play in the next most competitive division the next year (Small Fry and Junior-Junior move up to the next age group, all other ages move up to the Grand Championship). If a fiddler wins the Grand Championship three years, they are asked to sit out a year, and are invited to judge the contest instead of competing.
Contestants may perform with up to three accompanists. No contestant may play the same tune twice. There is a time limit of four minutes for rounds one through three, five minutes for rounds four and five, and no time limit for the final round of the Grand Champion division. All contestants must use the microphone provided. No sheet music is allowed on stage and there is no 'trick' or 'fancy fiddling,' nor can there be any cross tuning on stage. Anyone may enter the contest.
Judging
The judging criteria are: oldtime fiddling style, danceability, rhythm and timing, and tone quality. A simple tune, played well, is scored higher than a difficult tune that is played poorly. There are three judges and each gives a score out of 100 for each tune a fiddler plays (a perfect score for one round is 900). The judges are often fiddlers who have won the Grand Championship in the past, or fiddlers who are well known in other styles of fiddle music.
To reduce bias, judging is done from a room away from the competition area. Judges only hear the number of the competitor and the performance. This does not prevent judges from recognizing fiddlers by their style. The one exception is the final round of the Grand Championship, during which the judges are in the front row, next to the stage.
Weiser, Idaho
Weiser is a city in the rural western part of the U.S. state of Idaho and the county seat of Washington County. With its mild climate, the city supports farm, orchard, and livestock endeavors in the vicinity. The city sits at the confluence of the Weiser River with the great Snake River, which...
. It is often referred to as 'Weiser'. The contest draws musicians from across the country. Nearly 7000 people come for the week and almost 350 fiddlers compete in 8 divisions. In addition to the contest there are workshops, performances, a battle of the bands, a parade and a carnival. The contest is held at Weiser High School
Weiser High School
Weiser High School is the only high school in Weiser, Idaho. In 2006, it had a student population of 514. Every June, it hosts the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest & Festival....
. The competition is held in the gymnasium, and most of the contestants camp in the school’s sports fields.
History
The contest began in 1953 as the Northwest Mountain Fiddlers' Contest. It was organized by Blaine StubblefieldBlaine Stubblefield
Blaine Stubblefield was the founder of the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest held annually in Weiser, Idaho, an archiver of American folk songs, the originator of regular passenger boat tours down the Hells Canyon of the Snake River, a writer, and a magazine editor.Blaine was born in Enterprise,...
, secretary of the Weiser Chamber of Commerce. The contest increased in size each year, and competitors came from farther away. The name was changed to the Northwest Oldtime Fiddling Championships in 1956, when a regional division was added for out-of-area fiddlers. In 1963, the present National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest was inaugurated. The contest has continued to grow since then, and now sets the standard for fiddling competitions across the nation.
The Music
The dominant style of fiddling that is played in the competition is Texas Contest Style, although there are many other fiddling styles which are played during jam sessions that last well into the night. There are also performances on the contest stage between rounds of competition, where the fiddling styles range from swing to bluegrass to celtic.There are some tunes that are played many times during the week. Sally Gooden, Sally Johnson, Dusty Miller, Allentown Polka, Cotton Patch Rag, Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down, Memory Waltz, Morning Star Waltz, and Red Roses in Summer Rain are all tunes played by some of the top competitors.
Rules
Each fiddlerFiddler
A fiddler is a person who plays a fiddle or violin.Fiddler may also refer to:*Fabrangen Fiddlers, an American musical group founded in 1971*Tupolev Tu-28 "Fiddler", a fighter aircraft*Fiddler , a DC Comics villain...
plays a set (or 'round') of three tunes, which must include a hoedown
Hoedown
A Hoedown is a type of American folk dance or square dance in duple meter, and also the musical form associated with it.-Overview:The most popular sense of the term is associated with Americans in rural or southeastern parts of the country, particularly Appalachia. It is a dance in quick movement...
, a waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
and a tune of choice, which can neither be a waltz or a hoedown. The fiddlers with the highest scores move on to the next round of competition. The number of fiddlers that get to play in each round is decided before the contest starts. In all divisions, only five fiddlers compete in the final round of competition. Scores are cumulative throughout the contest.
The contest is divided into seven divisions: Small Fry, for contestants less than nine years of age; Junior-Junior, for contestants less than 13 years of age; Junior, for contestants less than 18 years of age; Young Adult, for ages 18–36; Adult, ages 37–59; Senior, ages 60 and above; and finally, Grand Champion, which is open to competitors of any age. No competitor may enter more than one of these divisions. There is no competition between divisions. There are three rounds of competition for the Small Fry and Junior-Junior divisions, four for the Junior, Young Adult, Adult and Senior divisions, and six for the Grand Championship.
If a contestant wins an age specific division three times, they can no longer compete in that division, but they may play in the next most competitive division the next year (Small Fry and Junior-Junior move up to the next age group, all other ages move up to the Grand Championship). If a fiddler wins the Grand Championship three years, they are asked to sit out a year, and are invited to judge the contest instead of competing.
Contestants may perform with up to three accompanists. No contestant may play the same tune twice. There is a time limit of four minutes for rounds one through three, five minutes for rounds four and five, and no time limit for the final round of the Grand Champion division. All contestants must use the microphone provided. No sheet music is allowed on stage and there is no 'trick' or 'fancy fiddling,' nor can there be any cross tuning on stage. Anyone may enter the contest.
Judging
The judging criteria are: oldtime fiddling style, danceability, rhythm and timing, and tone quality. A simple tune, played well, is scored higher than a difficult tune that is played poorly. There are three judges and each gives a score out of 100 for each tune a fiddler plays (a perfect score for one round is 900). The judges are often fiddlers who have won the Grand Championship in the past, or fiddlers who are well known in other styles of fiddle music.To reduce bias, judging is done from a room away from the competition area. Judges only hear the number of the competitor and the performance. This does not prevent judges from recognizing fiddlers by their style. The one exception is the final round of the Grand Championship, during which the judges are in the front row, next to the stage.